We have just experienced an old-fashioned blizzard. Lots of snow fell and we are thankful. The wind blew hard, leaving snowbanks of interesting shapes and forms. The kids just love them. One side of our house was packed tight with snow. When the door on that side of the house was opened, we were greeted by a wall of snow with the imprint of the door moldings and handle. It wasn’t easy to push over.
Farmgate sales
In last week’s column we answered a question about whether health inspectors were involved or needed when selling food at farmers’ markets and roadside stands.
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To add to that answer, when selling directly from your farm to a customer, the general rule is that raw, unprocessed foods can be sold. Processed foods may be sold at the farmgate if the food is considered low risk, is sold in small volumes and is purchased by a consumer for his or her own consumption (ie. can’t be retailed).
For safety reasons, farmgate sales of high risk foods, such as milk and meats, do have requirements that vary slightly from one jurisdiction to another. Persons interested in selling food from the farm should contact their health region public health inspector.
Blueberry muffins
Topping:
2 tablespoons flour 30 mL
1/3 cup quick oats 75 mL
1/4 cup brown sugar 50 mL
1/4 cup pecans, finely 50 mL
chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1 mL
3 tablespoons melted 45 mL
margarine
1-2 teaspoons lemon zest 5-10 mL
Muffin:
11/2 cups all-purpose flour 375 mL
1/2 cup ground flax 125 mL
1/2 cup brown sugar 125 mL
11/2 teaspoons baking powder 7 mL
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
1 egg
1 cup skim milk 250 mL
1 tablespoon lemon juice 15 mL
1 teaspoon vanilla 5 mL
3/4 cup unsweetened 175 mL
blueberries or saskatoons
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
Topping: Combine flour, oats, sugar, pecans, cinnamon and lemon zest; mix well.
Add melted margarine. Rub ingredients together until thoroughly moistened. Set aside.
Muffin: Combine flour, ground flax, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil and egg. Add skim milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk until well blended.
Add liquid to dry ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened.
Gently fold berries into batter. Do not overmix.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick vegetable spray or use paper cup liners. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup (50 mL) of batter. Sprinkle topping on top.
Bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for five minutes. Remove from tin and cool to room temperature. Store.
Yield: 12 muffins
Source: Flax Focus 2003, Flax Council of Canada.
Parsnip query
Dear TEAM: Why do parsnips go soft? – J.M., Moose Jaw, Sask.
Dear J.M.: Vegetables become soft and flabby when they give off water into the air surrounding them. All living cells respire. The respiration process will continue after the parsnip is harvested and will continue until it is cooked, when all life ceases.
Respiration is simply the reverse of photo-synthesis. During respiration water is given off as a byproduct. As temperatures drop, the process slows.
If the air around the parsnips is dry, they will compensate by releasing even more moisture into the air and will become flabby more quickly.
Also, the enzymes that mature vegetables keep working after harvest. Near freezing temperatures will slow them as well.
The first rule when harvesting any root vegetable intended for storage is to ensure that full maturity has been reached. Maturity prepares your vegetables for storage and increases the sweetness of many.
Store parsnips and other root crops such as turnips, carrots and beets at near-freezing temperatures (32-36 F/0-2.5 C), in the dark, and where there is high relative humidity, 95 percent.
To achieve these conditions, many people place clean, mature vegetables in slightly damp peat moss, moist sand or plastic bags.
I find a plastic five gallon (20 L) pail works well, with a newspaper in the bottom and at the top to absorb excess moisture, and a plastic bag over the top. However, you then need a refrigerated space big enough to hold the big pails.
Cake problem
Dear TEAM: Why do my cakes fall and shrink when I take them from the oven? I follow the recipes exactly and make sure the cake is thoroughly cooked at the specified temperature. – G.W., Wawota, Sask.
Dear G.W.: For a successful cake, the recipe, the ingredients and the oven must all be right. Which of these is causing your cakes to shrink and fall is hard to tell. Some possible reasons to check are:
- Insufficient flour or eggs. Flour and eggs form the structure or framework of the cake. Are you using the kind of flour asked for in your recipes? One cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour = one cup (250 mL) + two tablespoons (30 mL) of pastry or cake flour.
- Too much sugar or fat. One cup (250 mL) margarine or butter = one cup (250 mL) minus two tablespoons (25 mL) oil.
- Either too much or not enough baking powder or baking soda.
- Opening the oven door before it is at least half cooked.
- Too slow an oven. Check the temperature with an oven thermometer. Perhaps try baking the cake in a friend’s oven to see if your oven is the problem.
- Too much batter in the pan.
Marrow seeds
Dear TEAM: I saw in the Western Producer that you mentioned marrow seed. I used to grow them, but with moving, I lost the seeds. If you have any seeds on hand, another lady and I would like about 20 seeds. Then we will share 10 each. We have been trying to find this seed. The seeds were a dark red, I think. – A.L., Lloydminster, Sask.
Dear A.L.: I’m sorry we do not have any vegetable marrow seeds. However, some nurseries do carry it, including Early’s Farm & Garden Centre, in Saskatoon. It can be reached at 306-931-1982. It will mail seeds to you.
If a nursery does not have the variety you are looking for, you might be interested in becoming a member of Seeds Of Diversity. It is a non-profit group of gardeners from coast to coast who save seeds from rare and unusual garden plants, for the purpose of preserving the varieties. Members save seeds and share them with other members.
The cost of becoming a member is $25 for regular membership and $20 for those on a fixed income.
The membership gives you a subscription to a magazine that is published three times a year, and a seed exchange directory, which lists the seeds offered from members.
The group’s membership year runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, so now is a good time to join. Seeds of Diversity can be contactedat Box 36, Station Q, Toronto, Ont. M4T 2L7, phone 866-509-7333 or e-mail office@seeds.ca.
Cream of wheat noodles
Dear Team: I have been looking for a recipe my mother made more than 30 years ago, cream of wheat noodles. She browned the cream of wheat in butter, added a little milk and then poured it over cooked noodles and served. I have tried to make it (never turned out) and I can’t find the recipe for it. -M.J., e-mail.
Would any of our readers have this recipe? We were not able to find it.
Alma Copeland is a home economist from Elrose, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
